Dragon Ball X
by thisgirlwrites
Summary: Another Saiyan planet and a whole world of trouble...
1. A New Saiyan Appears

Disclaimer: Well, we all know how this goes, don't we? ^_^ Obviously, I don't own Dragon Ball Z. Point made. Nothing else to say.

Dragon Ball X

Chapter One: A New Saiyan Appears

A dark spaceship raced by Jupiter, but it did not go unnoticed.

"What!" shouted King Kai as he jumped up from his seat. Bubbles stopped parading around King Kai's reconstructed but still tiny planet at the unexpected outburst, and an unsuspecting Gregory flew straight into his back. "Oh no," muttered King Kai to no one in particular. "How can this be?"

"What's wrong King Kai?" asked Gregory as he picked himself up off the ground.

"I'm not sure," announced King Kai, "but it seems as though someone is headed straight for Earth, and they don't want to be detected either. I can't get an accurate reading on anything. I have to warn Goku and the others. They must meet this stranger."

* * * * *

Back on Earth, two shadows raced through a forest. Suddenly they burst out into the clearing; Trunks and Goten were intent on reaching the house before them. They reached out as they neared the house and touched it at what appeared to be the same time. After doing so, they promptly collapsed, panting, on the ground.

"I beat you!" announced Trunks, in between taking huge gulps of air.

"No way!" countered Goten, also gasping for breath. "I beat you!"

"I was ahead!"

"But I caught up!"

"You want to settle this?" asked Trunks, with a half-grin, half-smirk.

"You bet," replied Goten, returning the gesture with a grin of his own.

They raced at each other, but before they could even start, Chichi called out from inside the house, "Don't even think about it!"

They both froze at the sound of her voice. They turned around to face her and smiled innocently.

"I told you two already, no fighting except in the training room!"

"We weren't fighting," protested Goten, trying his best to look sincere.

"Yet," added Trunks under his breath.

"Hmm?" she asked, having only half heard his statement.

Trunks looked up, surprised. "N-nothing."

She looked at them both a minute longer, trying to decide whether or not to pursue the matter. "All right," she said finally. "Come on inside, and wash up. Lunch is ready."

They exchanged a quick look of relief before running inside. Chichi laughed to herself quietly. It's amazing what good friends those two are, she thought. It was quite remarkable how they were together all of the time.

For a while Goku and his family had lived in one place, while Vegeta and his family had lived somewhere else. The only problems with this had been that Goten and Trunks were always together, and Goku and Vegeta spent long hours in the training room at Capsule Corporations. Annoyed with the situation, Chichi and Bulma had decided to move in together, a bit further from civilization then Bulma was used to but much closer than Chichi was used to. A training compound had been built to accommodate their husbands' needs. Everyone was happy with the arrangement, even Vegeta although he pretended not to care.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in the training room, Goku and Vegeta were sparring, as usual. Bulma entered as far as the outer hallway. Goku and Vegeta are probably training under at least 300 times the normal gravity, she thought. She looked in through the window to see how they were doing. Goku was throwing punches at Vegeta who dodged them all with little effort. He retaliated by firing an energy beam at Goku.

"Catch this one," challenged Vegeta.

Goku gave no response, only prepared himself to meet the beam that rushed through the air towards him. He held out his hands to stop it but then decided to cancel it out by throwing an energy beam of his own.

"KAMEHAMEHA!" he shouted, bringing his hands together to fire the blast.

The two beams collided in a brilliant flash of light. When the smoke at last lifted, Goku and Vegeta were standing at opposite ends of the room. Bulma decided to use the momentary pause in their sparring to talk. She pushed a few buttons on the panel on the wall, turning on the intercom. However, before she could say anything, Goku had already charged at Vegeta. Oh well, she thought, may as well be now. It appeared that they would not be done anytime soon.

"Vegeta, Goku," she said through the speaker.

Vegeta looked towards the window, as a surprised Goku slid to a stop.

"Lunch is ready," she announced.

"Finally," rejoiced Goku. "I'm starved." He promptly walked over to the gravity machine and turned it off. Vegeta, however, was more reluctant to stop, but with food on Goku's mind, to continue the fight would be useless.

He had finally reconciled himself to Kakarrot's Earth name, although he often forgot and called him by his saiyan name. Vegeta looked around the mostly empty room as his mind wandered. There had been very few fights for a long time, and he missed them. After all, he was a saiyan; it was in his blood to fight. He needed the thrill a fight brought him, and this peaceful existence was not settling well with him.

"You coming, Vegeta?" asked Goku, as he stood by the door.

"What?" questioned Vegeta, turning around to face Goku.

"You coming?" he repeated, moving closer to the outside.

Vegeta didn't answer, but he did walk towards the door.

* * * * *

Back in the house, Chichi had just finished setting the table, which was fairly laden with food.

"Now," she said to herself, "where is everyone?"

"Hey Trunks! Wait for me!" called out Goten, racing through the hallway.

Trunks turned around to wait for Goten. "Well, hurry up," he urged impatiently. No sooner had he finished speaking than Goten dashed in.

"WHOA!" shouted Goten as he tried in vain to stop. He was, of course, unable to do so and ran into Trunks, knocking them both over one of the kitchen chairs.

"OWW!" they both complained.

"Why didn't you stop?" asked Trunks, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because I couldn't," returned Goten, holding his hand against his forehead.

"What have I told you two about running in the house?" demanded Chichi, obviously peeved.

Goten and Trunks looked up at her as they stood up slowly.

"Um, that would be, not to do it," answered Trunks, as he picked up the fallen chair.

"That's right," she replied. "And what were you doing?"

"Aww, come on Mom," whined Goten. "We weren't really running."

"Oh, and what would you say you were doing?"

"Um... we were just walking... really, really fast."

Trunks laughed but stifled it the moment he noticed Chichi's expression. Fortunately for them, Gohan walked in with his wife Videl at that moment.

"Gohan!" exclaimed Goten, as he jumped up and raced towards his older brother.

"What did I just say about running in the house?" demanded Chichi.

"Wait!" exclaimed Gohan, but it was too late. Goten jumped at him, knocking him over. "Calm down Goten. We were only gone for a day," he said laughing.

"Well?" asked Goten. "What's the surprise?"

"Yeah," added Trunks, walking over to join them.

"Surprise?" questioned Gohan, pretending not to know what they were talking about.

"Come on," prompted Goten, "you told us that you were going to bring us a surprise this time."

"Well, we did," he started, as he began to stand.

"But we're not going to give them to you till Friday," interrupted Videl, looking down at her husband with an amused expression on her face. Honestly, how old is he, she thought to herself.

"Why not?" whined Goten, clearly disappointed.

"Can't you at least tell us what it is?" pleaded Trunks, equally dismayed at the added delay.

"No," replied Videl, her arms crossed. Goten looked over at Gohan, hoping for some small glimmer of hope, but Gohan shook his head.

"Why not?" repeated Goten.

"Because, little brother," began Gohan, "Mom made me promise not to give them to you till Friday."

"Friday?" asked Goten.

"Yes, Friday," interceded Chichi.

"But why?"

"Because you and Trunks have that project for school to finish, and if they give them to you now, you'll never finish it," stated Chichi, as she placed her hands on her hips, a sure sign that further prompting would only invite an outburst.

However, he was at least spared from further lecture by the arrival of Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma, for once without Bra trailing after her. No doubt Pan and Bra were taking a nap.

"Gohan, Videl!" exclaimed Goku, surprised. "When'd you get back?"

"Just now," replied Gohan, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by none other than King Kai.

"GOKU!" shouted King Kai, his voice carried from the other world.

"What? King Kai, is that you?" asked Goku looking up, startled.

"Yes Goku," replied King Kai, "I've contacted you to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"There is a spaceship headed for Earth at this very moment."

"A spaceship?" echoed Goku, his curiosity aroused at the prospect. "Do you have any idea of what it might be?"

"I'm afraid not, Goku. Whoever it is, they're able to hide themselves from detection."

"Well, do you know when it will be here?"

"According to my calculations, it should land about 200 miles northeast of your current location in less than in hour."

"One hour! That doesn't give us much time at all."

"I know. Good luck, Goku."

"Right. Thanks, King Kai."

"What's going on?" asked Videl, confused by the sudden appearance of a voice with no speaker. No matter how long she lived with the Son family, she wondered if she would ever be able to get used to all their quirks.

"It looks like lunch is going to have to wait. The spaceship's going to be here in less than an hour," said Goku, a grim look on his face.

Vegeta looked up. Finally, he thought, a battle.

"Oh no," complained Bulma. As was to be expected, her sentiments were the exact opposite of Vegeta's. "Not another battle."

Gohan looked at his father. "What do you think, Dad?" he asked. "Will it be a new enemy?"

"I don't know," replied Goku, scratching his head. "I can't even sense a power approaching."

"Well, it has to be something," interrupted Vegeta, impatient as always. "Why are we still standing here? We should be on our way already."

"He's right," conceded Goku. "We better get going."

"Can we come?" asked Goten, barely able to keep himself from jumping up and down. There had been any fights in ages, and he could only hope he wouldn't have to miss this one.

"I don't see why not," answered Goku, with a shrug. His attitude was, however, a bit too casual for his wife.

"What do you mean!" objected Chichi, giving Goku an indignant look. "Of course he can't go! It's too dangerous!"

"That goes for you too, Trunks," added Bulma, equally concerned.

"But Mom... we never get to do anything fun," complained Trunks, disappointed by her refusal to the question he had not yet even asked.

"Fun!" outburst Bulma, not at all pleased. "How can you call fighting fun? Vegeta, I swear, this is all your fault. You're the one who put these crazy notions in his head that fighting is fun!"

When Vegeta didn't answer, Trunks used the silence to continue his plea.

"Please," begged Trunks. "We'll be careful. Honest."

"Come on Mom," pleaded Goten.

"Well..." began Chichi, her resolve starting to weaken.

"Please!" they pleaded in unison.

"Come on Chichi," said Goku, joining in. "They'll be fine. We'll look out for them."

"I give up," conceded Bulma. "Trunks, you can go. But," she continued, turning to face Vegeta, "he better come home in one piece or I'll--"

"Calm down, woman," replied Vegeta. "He'll be fine."

"What about me?" asked Goten, looking at his mother. "Can I go, too?"

"I suppose," she relented, sighing at her defeat.

"All right!" cheered Goten.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were flying towards the location. Videl had stayed behind to keep Chichi and Bulma calm. She also knew that if the opponent was very powerful, she would only get in the other's way.

Despite Vegeta's normal stern outward expression, it was obvious he was pleased at the prospect of a fight. Goku, too, looked forward to the opportunity to do battle. Gohan was a little less eager for battle, but, as always, he was ready. Goten and Trunks just looked excited because they were actually being allowed to go.

"There," called out Goku, pointing towards the ground. "Should be somewhere around here." That said, he descended, and everyone else followed his lead. They landed in a desert-like plain in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.

"Sense anything yet?" asked Gohan, looking up at the sky. He half expected to see a spaceship appear, but he knew it was still too early.

"No, not yet," replied Goku.

"Must still be too early," commented Vegeta, breaking his usual silence.

"How much time's left?" questioned Gohan.

"About twenty minutes," answered Goku.

Goten and Trunks stood still for a little while before they got bored and sat down on the dusty ground.

"What do you think it'll be?" asked Goten, hoping to find some sort of a diversion with which to pass the time. Twenty minutes seemed like an eternity to him.

"I don't know. Maybe it's not really anything," answered Trunks, his answer noncommittal.

"Well, it has to be someone," persisted Goten.

"Well... maybe they're peaceful."

"I don't know about that. Why would they be hiding?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're running away from something."

* * * * *

Out in the cold, dark space, the much talked about spaceship had just flown by Mars. The inside of the ship was dark. A small figure sat alone, hidden by the shadows. An automated voice broke the silence.

"Prepare for arrival in ten minutes." The figure got up and walked slowly over to the control panel where it pressed a few buttons on the control panel. "Landing sequence set," confirmed the machine.

The figure then walked back to where it had been and sat back down, once again hidden by the shadows.

* * * * *

Back on Earth, Trunks and Goten were going crazy with the waiting. They were both lying down on the ground staring up at the sky, hoping something, anything, would happen soon.

"How much longer?" Goten asked Gohan for what must have been the 100th time.

"I already told you," returned Gohan, glancing over at him only briefly.

"Well, I forgot," explained Goten, sitting up.

Gohan sighed but then answered, "Probably another ten minutes."

Goten looked disappointed at the news but said nothing more.

"Vegeta," said Goku, "You sense anything yet?"

Vegeta remained silent. He seemed not to have heard.

"Vegeta," repeated Goku, a bit louder this time.

He looked up, almost startled. "What?"

"Can you sense anything yet?"

"No," he answered.

Goku looked at Vegeta. It had taken a long time to convince Vegeta to change sides from evil to good, but now he was one of Earth's strongest defenders. However, he had always remained a bit distant to everyone except Bulma and his son. Trunks was very different from his father, but little else could be expected from their two very different backgrounds.

At that moment, a tiny speck, which they could only assume was the spaceship, appeared in the sky. It grew in size as it descended and confirmed beyond doubt that it was a spaceship.

"That's it," announced Goku, though everyone had already seen it. "Let's go."

It grew larger and larger, lighting up the sky. Finally it landed, created a rather large crater on the fortunately unpopulated ground.

Inside the spaceship, the automated voice stated, "Landing sequence complete."

The small figure stood up and went back to the control panel. It entered in a few more keys, before the computer's voice once again broke the silence.

"Scanning the area... The planet is Earth."

At this announcement, the figure looked up. It entered in a few more keys.

"Scanning for high power levels... There are three very high powers and two smaller ones present in the immediate area. Location: 75 ft. west."

"I still can't figure out what it is," said Goku, his voice quieter now than it had been. "I felt a power level for a second, but then it just faded."

"Whoever it is," added Vegeta, "they're trying to hide their power, but there's only one person."

"I want to know who's inside," whispered Goten to Trunks.

"Shh!" warned Gohan. "The door's opening."

All five of the fighters tensed. The door opened slowly, revealing the darkness from inside the ship. Then the small figure appeared in the door.

"What!" exclaimed Trunks, taking a step back.

"No way!" added Goten, his eyes wide.

"It's... it's a girl!" finished Trunks as he stared back at the visitor.

The person inside the ship was, without a doubt, a girl. She wore dark clothes, which made her difficult to see while standing in the doorway of her ship. On her back she carried a sword, which was still in its sheath. She was shorter than Goten and Trunks and appeared to be younger than them as well. Her blue eyes darted about as she observed her surroundings. She bit her lip as she tried to meet the stares of those who had found her.

The five warriors looked unsure of what to do. They had been ready for fierce warriors or little green men from outer space, anything. Anything but a little girl.

"Who are you?" asked Goku, surprised though he was.

She forced herself to look back at them. She sensed something about them; they shared a similar trait with her. They could be trusted, at least for now.

"I am Azuri, a saiyan from Planet Xenon," she introduced herself, as she stood up straighter and raised her head to look back at them.

The statement left a look of complete surprise on everyone's faces.

And that's all she wrote. ^_^ Heh heh... well, that's it for Chapter 1. Did you like, hate, didn't care? Tell me. It doesn't help if I don't know. ~_^

~Azuri

dbzazuri@yahoo.com


	2. Azuri's Story

Disclaimer: Well, you read this in the last chapter didn't you?

Dragon Ball X

Chapter Two: Azuri's Story

"_I am Azuri, a saiyan from Planet Xenon._"

Her words echoed in Vegeta's head as she flew up and landed in front of them. What could she possibly mean, he wondered. Saiyans were from the Planet Vegeta, and it had been destroyed by Frieza long ago. She couldn't be telling the truth about who she was.

"Wh-what do you mean?" stuttered Gohan.

She looked back at him, fear surfacing in her eyes. She remained silent for a moment as she thought about his question. Then she spoke.

"I-I don't understand," she returned, shaking her head in confusion as she tried to steady her voice. "I mean what I say. I am a saiyan from Planet Xenon."

"But that can't possibly be true," interjected Vegeta. "Saiyans are from the Planet Vegeta, and it was destroyed long ago."

She realized then what the similar trait between herself and them was. "Then you, you must be a saiyan."

"We all are," replied Goku, "or at least part saiyan," he continued, glancing at Gohan, Goten, and Trunks.

"And you," she began, looking at Goku, "your name is Kakarrot?"

"It was," he replied, amazed.

"How could you have known that?" demanded Vegeta, his impatience growing.

Undaunted, she then turned to face Vegeta. "And you... your name is Vegeta?"

He stared back at her, a gleam of mistrust in his eyes; slowly, he nodded his head.

"You seem to know who we are, but we don't know anything about you," said Goku.

"Then I'll explain," she replied as she pushed a stray strand of long black hair out of her eyes. She took a deep breath before she continued. I can do this, she reassured herself.

"It's true, originally the only saiyan planet _was_ Planet Vegeta, but the population grew, and there were more and more battles between rival groups. There were two groups: a large group of semi-skilled fighters and a smaller group of very powerful warriors. The battles continued for years until finally, the smaller group decided to leave Planet Vegeta and find a new home. They left and found another planet suitable for them. They took it over and named it after their leader, Xenon."

"But how--" stammered Vegeta. "I mean, why did no one on Planet Vegeta know of its existence?"

"They did know, before, but these battles took place a long time ago. The two groups were rivals, but neither of them could destroy the other, so it seems that the people of Planet Vegeta chose to simply forget about the existence of the second saiyan planet, Xenon."

"But none of that explains why you're here," interrupted Goku.

At that, her gaze dropped to the ground again. Her quick recitation of the history of her planet had been easier for her to tell. After all, history was only facts, easily memorized, easily referenced. Her reasons for being here were unclear, even to her.

"I..." she paused, looking up at Goku for a brief moment. She looked back down, as if she had changed her mind, but then she spoke again. "I came to warn you. You are all the only remaining saiyans from Planet Vegeta. They've decided to come to try to get you to join them."

At their silence, she paused again. "You must not join them," she suddenly pleaded. "They-they fight only for greed and-and power. They destroy planets and peoples' lives."

"If that's true, why are you here? You're one of them, aren't you?" questioned Vegeta, looking her over with his usual severe glare.

"No," she replied, unnerved though she was, "not anymore."

"What do you mean?" asked Goku, his voice gentler now.

"I-I ran away," she answered, looking past them. Anything was better than meeting their stares. "I wasn't like them. I don't want to destroy things. I couldn't agree with what they taught me, what they stood for. I just..." She paused and then continued more quietly. "I just couldn't take it anymore."

Something in Vegeta's expression actually softened. He knew that if Planet Xenon was anything like Planet Vegeta, then she had been through a lot. He looked at her differently now; he no longer saw her as an enemy. He could tell that she was still scared of them. Of course, she would be. She had no way of knowing whether they were like the saiyans from her home planet or not.

"She's not our enemy," he said, abruptly, turning to Goku.

"What?" asked Goku, surprised.

"She's not our enemy," repeated Vegeta.

"You sure about that?" questioned Goku.

Vegeta nodded and then observed, "She's scared."

Goku looked at her and nodded, seeing what Vegeta had seen. He started to walk towards her, and Vegeta followed him.

She looked up at them and drew back. I don't know if I can trust them, she thought wildly. What if they're like the rest of them? Then what do I do? I can't fight all of them. She drew a deep breath to calm herself before stepping forward again. She couldn't let them know she was afraid.

When they reached her, she stared back at them, her chin raised. She started to reach for her sword.

"Wait," called out Goku, "we don't want to fight you."

"You don't?" she asked, surprised, as she drew her hand back from the hilt of her sword.

"No," he answered. "Actually, we want to help you if we can."

"You'd... help me?" she asked, confused by their readiness to trust.

"Well, sure," replied Goku. "If you're running away from them, that means you're on our side."

"Then... you won't make me go back?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Make you go back?" questioned Vegeta.

"Please, sir," she pleaded, desperation in her soft voice. "Please don't make me go back. I'll do anything you want, anything. Just please, please, don't make me go back." Her blue eyes filled with tears, and she dropped to the ground. She fought to control her emotions. She knew she was making a mistake by letting them see how scared she was, but she just couldn't help it.

Vegeta watched her as she tried to hide her tears. He would never admit it to anyone, but he actually felt sorry for her. Goku looked confused and turned to Vegeta as he tried to figure out what to do about the scared little girl before them. Great, thought Vegeta sarcastically, he doesn't know what to do. Guess it's up to me.

"You don't have to go back," he assured her, his voice astonishingly gentle, for him anyway. "Not if you don't want to."

She looked up at them, a glimmer of hope arising in her for the first time. "I-I don't?" she questioned, unbelieving. He shook his head. She looked down for a second as she rubbed her sleeve across her eyes quickly to hide her tears.

Goku looked at Vegeta, surprised at his actions, but decided to say nothing for the time being.

"Th-Thank you," she said quietly, smiling for the first time in a long while.

Gohan, Goten, and Trunks, who had remained quiet since she had begun explaining, now walked over to where Goku, Vegeta, and she were standing. She turned to look at them. Goten ran over to her, with Trunks trailing only slightly behind him.

"I-I don't think I know who you are," she told them, her voice still a bit unsteady.

"I'm Goten," he answered. Then he turned around to point at Gohan. "He's my big brother Gohan, and--"

"And I'm Trunks," concluded Trunks for him as he held his hand out to her. "Want some help up?"

She drew back, her action barely visible. She looked at his outstretched hand, and in her mind, she flashed back to Xenon. She was lying on the floor, holding her left ankle and closing her eyes against the pain shooting through her leg. Before her stood a dark figure; he stepped into the light, and his saiyan armor and tail soon came into view.

"Get up," he demanded sharply. He watched her from a distance, blind to her obvious pain. She struggled to get up, but as soon as she put the slightest bit of weight on her left leg, she gasped and fell back down.

"Well," he prompted impatiently, "what are you waiting for? I said, get up!"

"I-I can't sir," she protested, her voice faint.

"Why not?" he demanded as he strode over to her.

"I think I twisted my ankle," she answered.

"Stop making excuses. _I_ decide when it's time for you to stop. Now get up."

"I can't sir," she insisted, her voice shaking. Normally she wouldn't dream of disobeying him, but the pain in her left leg was too great to ignore. She remained on the ground, fearful of what he might do to her.

He reached down, grabbed her roughly by the arm, and pulled her up. She winced in pain as he stood her up, putting weight on her ankle. When she was standing up completely, he released her. She stood there for a half second longer before falling back down to the ground. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. That would serve no other purpose than to anger him even more.

"Go on back to your room," he ordered as he turned his back to her. "We'll continue your training tomorrow." Then he walked off, leaving her alone in the darkness.

"Um... are you okay?" asked Trunks, his voice calling her back to reality. His hand remained outstretched. She finally reached up slowly for his hand and got up.

"Yeah... I'm fine," she replied softly. "Thanks."

"What were you saying before?" asked Gohan. "About them coming here to Earth?"

"Well, I'm not really sure when they'll be here, but I think it'll be anywhere from a month to a year," she answered. "I overheard them talking about coming to Earth, but they never actually said _when_ they'd come. All I know is, that when they do come, they'll try to get you to join them any way they can. They'll destroy this whole planet if they have to."

"But why?" asked Goku, curious as to their motives. "Why do they want us to join them?"

"You're all the only remaining survivors from Planet Vegeta, and _that_ makes you their enemy that is, unless you join them. They would simply destroy this planet, but they'd never turn down a fight."

"How strong exactly are they?" questioned Vegeta.

Azuri closed her eyes, focusing on the group in front of her. She could feel the energy they each had, and she tried to figure out what their combined fighting power might be. When she finally finished, she opened her eyes.

"They usually send about five people to take over a planet. The group they send here will probably be about five times stronger than all of you combined," she answered, her voice finally steady though still soft.

"F-five times stronger!" stuttered Gohan.

She nodded slowly.

"But, how could you sense our power levels?" inquired Vegeta. "You don't have a scouter, yet you know how to detect it?"

"Yes sir."

"How did you learn to do that?"

"I-I'm not really sure," she answered, unnerved again at his harsh tone. "I've been able to do it for as long as I can remember."

Goku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Can they all do that?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Is that good?" asked Goten, innocently. His statement relieved the tension. Gohan sighed; Vegeta groaned, and Trunks smacked his forehead with his hand. Goten looked around and realized his mistake. He grinned sheepishly.

Goku smiled at his younger son before continuing, "One way or another, if they are that strong, then we'll have to be ready for them."

Goten and Trunks looked curiously at Gohan who explained, "It means we've got to start training a lot harder if we're going to beat them."

"Right," confirmed Goku. "Especially you two," he continued, looking at Goten and Trunks.

"Why us?" asked Trunks.

"Because," answered Goku, "neither of you have ever used your powers to their full extent."

During this conversation, Azuri turned to leave.

"Wait," called out Vegeta, suddenly. "You don't have to go." He looked surprised that he had spoken.

"I've done what I came here to do," she returned, still facing the opposite direction.

"Well, you're the only one who knows what they're like," reasoned Goku. "We could really use your help."

She turned around slowly. "I-I don't know," she replied uncertainly.

"You could stay with us," he continued. "See if you like it, and if you do, you can stay."

"Well... I... um..." she stumbled for a moment before she finally looked up.

"Okay."

* * * * *

"What!" exclaimed Chichi and Bulma in unison.

They had all just arrived home, and now it was up to Goku to explain why they had an extra person.

"All right mister," demanded Chichi, as she took a menacing step closer to Goku, "you better have a really good explanation for this."

"Well, you see..." began Goku as he backed away.

Vegeta stood leaning against the wall. He'd leave all the explaining to Goku. Bulma was usually less hysteric when it came to surprises. She wouldn't ask him about what happened, but rely on what Goku said. He finally had some time to think about what had happened. He still couldn't believe that there was another saiyan planet. How could no one on Planet Vegeta have known of a second planet's existence, he wondered.

He turned to look out the window. Azuri was outside with Trunks, Goten, Gohan, and Videl. It was hard to believe that she had traveled all the way to Earth just to warn them.

Vegeta reflected back to what had happened earlier. He couldn't understand why he had sensed her fear when usually he would not have noticed a thing like that.

He thought back to his own past on Planet Vegeta. He had very few happy memories from his home planet, and he had been just like the rest of the saiyans. He hadn't opposed what they said; he had simply accepted what they taught him, grew to love fighting, and hate all who challenged him.

But she, she had stood against them. They wouldn't have liked that at all and would probably have tried to break her spirit in any way they could. He could only wonder at what she had been through.

Vegeta turned away from the window abruptly. If I don't keep up my guard, he thought, a bit annoyed with himself for this useless speculation, I'm going to be as soft as Kakarrot... er... Goku.

"And, that's the whole story," concluded Goku, giving Chichi a nervous grin.

Chichi and Bulma remained silent for a moment as they thought about what he had said. Then they both began speaking at the same time.

"What do you mean there's going to be another battle!" demanded Chichi, clearly upset.

"There are more saiyans? I thought you were the only ones left," said Bulma.

"And _what_ about her?" Chichi finished, pointing out the window at Azuri.

"Aww... come on, Chichi," appealed Goku, "she's just a little girl. And anyway, she's all alone and has no place to go."

"What about you Vegeta?" questioned Bulma, looking pointedly at him. "Do you want her to stay, too?"

The question caught him off guard. He thought quickly. "She could be useful in the battle," he responded, shrugging.

"Well, before we decide anything, I think we're at least entitled to meet her," stated Chichi, her hands on her hips.

"I agree," said Bulma, equally adamant. They made quite an intimidating pair, standing there with such grim expressions on their faces.

"Okay," conceded Goku, "I'll bring her in here." He went outside, glad he was not the one who had to face them. When he returned, Azuri was following him.

A moment later, she stood in the middle of the kitchen. She was staring down at the floor, trying hard not to be completely overwhelmed by Chichi and Bulma, who were circling her like vultures.

Finally, Chichi decided to speak, and the interrogation began.

"How old are you?"

"Where are your parents?"

"How long have you been on your own?"

The list of questions went on and on.

"E-eight," she answered, trying to answer the first question. "I-I don't know. I, um..."

"You're scaring her," warned Goku.

After that, they lightened up on her a bit. She answered their questions as best she could as she stood there with her hands clasped tightly in front of her. They could tell that she was frightened, but she was trying very hard to comply with their wishes.

"Well, if you're going to stay with us, then you have to go to school," Chichi finally said. She placed incredible importance on an education, a fact Gohan could attest to quite well.

"School?" asked Azuri, confused.

"Yes," confirmed Bulma. "You can probably be in the same grade as Goten and Trunks."

"So, then it's settled?" asked Goku.

"I suppose so," answered Chichi. "One last thing, though," she began as she turned to face Azuri. "As long as you stay here, you obey the same rules as Goten and Trunks. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am," replied Azuri, softly.

"Well," said Bulma, giving Azuri a smile, "welcome."

Azuri managed to smile back at them. Everything was happening so fast, she hardly knew what to expect.

But anything had to be better than Xenon.

"Good," said Goku. "Then, let's go."

"Wait a second!" protested Chichi. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the training room, of course," answered Goku, as he edged towards the door. He motioned for Azuri to follow him, which she did readily. Vegeta was already outside, and Goku left quickly before Chichi could complain any further.

"Let's go," said Vegeta, to everyone outside.

"Where are we going, dad?" asked Trunks, running to keep up with his father.

"The training room," was Vegeta's concise response.

* * * * *

Inside the training room, Goten and Trunks were getting ready to fight. A moment later, Goku walked in with Azuri following him.

"Okay, you two," he said to them. "One of you, get ready to fight her."

"What?" they asked, confused. Then they turned to face each other.

"You do it," said Trunks.

"No way! _You_ should," countered Goten.

Azuri laughed softly, "I'm not _that_ bad."

"Trunks," intervened Vegeta.

"Yeah, dad?" Trunks responded, looking up.

"_You_ do it."

"Um okay," conceded Trunks, looking her over. She was at least four inches shorter than him, and, truth to tell, she didn't look like much of a fighter.

Trunks and Azuri moved to the center of the training room. They looked at each other, sizing each other up. That done, they got into a fighting stance.

"You sure you're ready?" asked Trunks, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.

She only nodded.

From the sidelines, Goten asked, "Are you sure she won't get hurt?"

"Uh-huh," answered Goku, confidently. "She may be smaller and younger than Trunks, but she can fight."

Suddenly Trunks dashed at Azuri. Right before he reached her, she disappeared.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Trunks, as he slid to a stop, inches from running into a wall. "Where'd she go?"

He searched the room quickly, seeing Goten by the sidelines looking extremely surprised. Gohan looked surprised as well, but Vegeta and Goku seemed perfectly calm.

Okay, thought Trunks, I've got to focus. There was no _way_ he was going to lose to a girl.

Suddenly, she reappeared directly in front of him.

"Hey!" called out Trunks, as he jumped back quickly. "How'd you do that?"

"Same way you can," she replied, gaining confidence in her voice. "I may be a girl, and I may also be smaller than you, but don't underestimate me. I've been taught to fight my whole life."

Trunks looked back at her. This could be a lot of fun, he thought. He grinned saucily at Azuri, who this time smiled back at him.

That's it for the second chapter. Well, what'd you think? I know Vegeta was a little out of character, actually that's probably an understatement, but I'm working on it. ~_^ Heh heh. Guess that's it.

~Azuri

dbzazuri@yahoo.com


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